Conventionally, stenciling is done as follows: Stencils with letters, figures, or designs cut out are laid over a sheet of paper. Watercolors (water-soluble paint), or ink from a stamp pad is transferred to a stencil brush, then the artist colors by slightly tapping the stencil brush on the top of the stencil. Then, afterward, the stencil is removed and the letters, figures, or designs are copied.
Stencil brushes used for conventional stencils can have, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a brush 13 of animal hair, etc., attached to the tip of a wooden or bamboo handle 11, or as illustrated in FIG. 2, an ink absorbing part 12 of polyurethane sponge, etc., attached to the tip of a handle 11 of wood, bamboo, or hard plastic. The artist can hold the handle 11 with his or her fingers in the same manner as a pencil, and color with ink by slightly tapping the brush 13 on top of the stencil.
However, such conventional stencil brushes have the following problem: Because the handle 11 is made of hard material such as wood, bamboo, or hard plastic, when the user taps the handle 11 to dispense the ink, the impact of the tapping force returns to the fingers through the handle 11, because the force is not absorbed by the hard handle 11, stencil, or paper. Thus, the user receives an impact on the fingers all the time, and the fingers get tired if tapping is continued for a long time period.
Also, because the impact of the force, which taps the stencil brush 13, returns through the handle 11, the handle 11 bounces, and disrupts the close contact between the brush 13 or ink absorbing part 12, the stencil and the paper. Thus, the quantity of ink released from the brush 13 by one time of tapping is small, resulting in the need for more tapping on the stencil brush. The fingers therefore receive impact more frequently, and the hand gets tired.
A need therefore exists for an improved stencil brush.